N Korea to put American on trial

North Korea will put an American citizen, detained last year, on trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow Pyongyang’s government, a Korean news agency says.

Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a report on Saturday that Pae Jun Ho, who entered North Korea as a tourist on November 3, has admitted to the charges.

“The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun-Ho closed,” the KCNA said.

“In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it,” the report added.

The report also said that crimes committed by Pae, identified in the US as Kenneth Bae , “were proved by evidence.”

KCNA, however, did not provide any information on the exact date of trial.

The United States has so far not publicly commented on the latest development.

Washington does not have any diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang represents the US.

The development comes amid tense relations between North Korea, South Korea, and the United States.

The Korean Peninsula has been locked in a cycle of escalating military rhetoric following the participation of nuclear-capable US B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in its recent joint military exercises with Seoul.

The moves by the US prompted North Korea to step up its war rhetoric, authorizing its army to launch ‘preemptive nuclear strikes’ on the United States.

Pyongyang has also said its military should be prepared to attack “all US military bases in the Asia-Pacific region, including the US mainland, Hawaii, and Guam.”